Cod Liver Spread
Cod liver is a fatty thing, and the fat decides everything. A blender emulsifies it and the spread turns from tender to a greasy putty that coats the roof of your mouth. A fork keeps the structure: visible pieces of liver, crumbled yolk, crisp specks of onion. The lemon and mustard are not there for flavour so much as to cut through the richness.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 190 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Use 50 g of softened butter instead of cream cheese for a firmer spread you can actually slice.
Makes: about 450 g, serves 8
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Boil the eggs
Nine minutes from boiling, then straight into iced water: the yolks stay bright with no grey ring and the shells slip off.
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Step 2: Drain the liver
Tip the liver into a sieve but keep 2 tablespoons of the oil from the tin — that is how you will adjust the texture later.
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Step 3: Mash with a fork
Mash the liver in a bowl until even but still textured. A blender whips the fat into an emulsion and the spread turns greasy and gluey.
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Step 4: Add egg and onion
Grate the eggs on the fine side of a box grater. Chop the onion very finely and rinse it in cold water: the harshness goes, the crunch stays.
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Step 5: Bring it together
Fold in the cream cheese, mustard, lemon juice, dill and pepper. Taste before salting — canned liver is usually salty enough on its own.
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Step 6: Hit the texture
You want a spread that holds its shape on a spoon and goes onto bread without tearing it. Too stiff? Add the reserved oil a teaspoon at a time.
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Step 7: Chill, then temper
An hour in the fridge with film pressed onto the surface. Take it out 15 minutes before serving — cold fat tastes of nothing at all.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Buy cod liver packed in its own fat rather than vegetable oil: cleaner flavour, and it needs far less help.
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Variation
A spoonful of finely chopped pickles or capers makes the spread sharper and reads as less fatty.
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Swap
Use 50 g of softened butter instead of cream cheese for a firmer spread you can actually slice.
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Storage
Honestly, 48 hours in the fridge in a glass jar under film. With boiled egg in it, do not push further.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 190 kcal | 1,520 kcal |
| Protein | 9 g | 72 g |
| Fat | 15 g | 120 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g | 24 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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